Igyou no Sadame: The Provisions of the Feat
by Deathblow88
Summary: Full summary inside. Rating is precautionary due to the rating of the anime.
1. Devil Eyed Slayer

**A/N: Heyo Mayo! Who would have thought that I would do Claymore _this_ go round, huh? I'll just hit the highway instead of stalling you further, starting with the summary.**

 **Summary: AU. Vampires and humans are at constant war with each other. To ward off the Vampire race, the human race infused the blood of vampiric corpses into human soldiers to aid them in the war and gain the upper hand in terms of strength. However, what they had never expected was the male soldiers becoming unstable, forcing the production of females to commence. Four hundred years later, one female is forced to make a choice: humanity or inhumanity?**

Normal speech/Story: "Teresa Blackrun."

 _Journal entries/thoughts/flashbacks/dates and times: "Teresa Blackrun."_

 **Awakened Beings/Nosferatu: "Teresa Blackrun."**

 **Disclaimer: Claymore is owned by Norihiro Yagi. Not by me.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **P.S.~ I gave them all last names.**

* * *

 _June 3rd,_

 _Well, it seems that Vampires have started to slither around the west like a pack of snakes. Either way, I'm bound to leave soon for a village in a few hours that seems to have a wandering Nosferatu wreaking havoc and leaving people dead again. It isn't that I'm complaining, but that I'm wary of what will happen should the information be false._

 _I've gone through a situation like this before, but I'm not sure how my next assignment should turn out. Oh well. It isn't my choice to make, now is it?_

 _Signed,_

 _-Teresa Blackrun, ranked no. 1_

* * *

 _April 22_

A crowd of men stood in the town hall of Doga Village, surrounding the chief.

"That's the sixth victim!" One man hoarsely yelled.

"Exactly! We need to do something before this gets out of hand!" Another shouted in agreement.

The chief let out a resigned breath. "I received a reply to our letter yesterday. They're sending one of them to us." The balding man opened his eyes slightly, a serious glint in them. "A Claymore, that is."

Suddenly, a young man walked up and slammed his fist onto the chief's desk. "YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!" He shouted in anger.

The chief lowered his head out of stress. "We have no other choice, Zaki. Claymores are the _only_ people that can find a Nosferatu!"

"ARE YOU INSANE?! THEY'RE STILL PART NOSFERATU!" Zaki shouted, resisting the urge to bare his teeth to the old man, who adjourned the town meeting as everyone in the hut left to do their own tasks.

"Zaki!" A young boy shouted, running to him.

Zaki turned to face his brother. "Raki...?"

Looking at the two boys was like staring at a mirror at could warp time. But the difference was that Raki had a scar on his forehead close to his temple.

"What are they?" Raki questioned. "What's a Claymore?"

Zaki sighed.

"Claymores are half vampire, half human. They're the only people that can destroy a Nosferatu." Zaki patiently explained.

All Raki could do was blink before the townspeople started shouting, announcing someone's arrival.

"It's the claymore!"

* * *

A young woman, somewhere in her twenties or around that, walked through a barren plain as she walked to the nearest town. She had received orders to exterminate a Nosferatu nearly three days prior and as soon as possible.

Raki stared at her, completely mesmerized.

"So that's a devil-eyed witch..." The man next to him trailed off in awe.

"Why did the chief send for her, anyway?"

"...A girl?" Raki whispered.

The man next to him turned to face him. "Didn't you know? All Claymores are women."

Raki's eyes widened in sheer amazement. He looked at her eyes and was shocked to see slitted pupils, making her resemble a cat slightly.

"Her pupils are sharp..." He noted.

"That's why they're called 'Devil-eyed witches'," the man beside him explained, just before the crowd parted for her.

Her armor shifted as she walked further and into the town she was assigned.

Upon the sight of her, most of the villagers escaped into their homes for fear of their lives except one person. Of course he'd foolishly followed her without realizing that she'd only bring him trouble.

When he stepped on a twig, he fully caught her attention and she raised her blade to him with a cold gaze that had him stiff with fear.

"Oh. Just a boy, it seems." She said with indifference laced in her emotionless voice as she walked off.

"Hey, wait a minute! At least tell me your name!" Once again, Raki was silenced with a cold, emotionless gaze that only showed nothing but an unwavering depth. Raki flinched, not expecting the woman to stare at him with cold jade pearls.

"Do you not fear me, boy?" She said before walking off.

"Y-you're a Claymore, aren't you?" Raki asked, chasing after her.

"No."

Raki was taken aback. "H-huh?"

"Your people chose that name." She explained.

Raki blinked.

"Our Organization doesn't have a name. Your people chose 'Claymore' to identify us." She further elaborated. Soon enough, they reached the edge of the village, Raki running after her.

"That's...the edge of...the village..." he panted, getting her to stop.

"It is...?" She replied. Raki nodded.

"Beyond here's just the old mine." He answered.

He didn't expect to hear a _thwok_ and a heavy thud into the ground as he jumped in surprise.

"What are you doing...?" Raki questioned, the warrior closing her eyes.

"Sleeping. I've been walking for 70 hours straight." She explained, earning a confused look from Raki before he sat down with her, legs folded Indian style.

"Still here, it seems,"

Raki said nothing. He kept sitting next to her before he decided to ask her name.

"My name's Raki. What's your name?"

She opened her emerald eyes slightly. "Something that will be forgotten soon enough."

Raki raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

The Claymore remained silent, refusing to say anything else.

But before Raki could say anything else, the town bell rang, causing him to jolt.

"I've got to make dinner!" He chastised himself, running to his house as the green eyed woman stared at his retreating figure. It didn't take him long to reach his house and throw open the door.

"Sorry I'm late! I'll get right to-?!" Raki halted in his tracks when he saw blood all over the cobblestone floor, emanating from his now deceased uncle's neck. There were puncture wounds, one of which looked like it had torn his neck open.

"You're back, Raki?" His older brother asked from behind him, causing the boy to jump.

"Zaki! It's uncle, he's-" Raki panicked. He stopped when he saw the blood covering his brother's face, a pair of fangs jutting out from his gums.

"I know. He was delicious, superb even..." He darkly smiled, removing the piece of flesh that had been wedged between his teeth. "Just like you probably will be," he hissed, the grin never leaving his face. He stalked towards his brother with a cruel leer, which showed that he was no longer the Zaki that Raki held dear to him.

Raki's eyebrows furrowed in anger as he leapt forwards, and right into Zaki's fist, causing him to cut the inside of his cheek as he landed onto the ground. The vampire then took the time to explain how he'd been able to stay disguised.

 **"Do you know how we were able to hide ourselves from you pitiful humans? By mixing our blood with that of a future victim's. When I fed from your parents, I attached my bloodstream to your brother's, therefore making him a suitable host for me."** The Nosferatu explained. It didn't seem that he was aware that he was shedding tears.

Raki was lifted up by the scruff of his collar, causing him to lose his vision slightly. Zaki then noticed that he was shedding tears and deiced to speak.

 **"Looks like your brother is crying tears for you, even though he's gone completely..."** He cruelly grinned. Raki managed to get his vision in focus slightly before he saw something crash though the ceiling.

As it turned out, it was the Claymore from earlier, sword ready to strike before she swung down and lopped off the Nosferatu's arm.

Said monster shrieked in pain, holding his new stump. Raki was promptly dropped to the ground, landing on his backside. He grunted as he used his arm to brace his fall, even though it was a tad too late.

"The boy carried the scent of a Nosferatu," She explained calmly. "All I had to do was follow him. You lead me to your very demise." Raki looked up at his savior and froze, seeing the very color of her eyes.

They were a hellish bright green that accentuated her sharp pupils, eyes that looked as menacing as the monster in front of her.

Zaki gritted his teeth and leapt at her, slicing through air. The armor clad woman reappeared behind him, sword at the ready. "Too slow."

Her prey jumped back to avoid getting sliced in two, but did not escape injury. The edge of her blade had sliced into his shoulder, leaving a gash.

 **"GAH!"** Zaki yowled. How could a dhampir of all things cut a Nosferatu?!

Raki just looked on, unable to speak. His mind was reeling at the sight before him.

Zaki dashed away, but not before she had bounced off of the wall and had lopped off his remaining arm with a loud clang.

 **"FORGIVE ME! PLEASE, SPARE ME!"** He screamed in terror, knowing the danger that he was beginning to face.

She calmly walked towards him, veins roping over her arms and face. To Raki, her appearance had become several times more menacing.

The Nosferatu backed away in fear of his impending doom. He kept rasping to be spared, but he never got the mercy he asked for when she split him in two, blood flying everywhere.

Raki felt his teeth chattering when she looked his way, with her appearance restored to its normal self. Her sword returned to its sheath with a loud clang of metal, and she walked off.

The boy shook as he looked at everything around him, covered in blood. The only noise that could be heard was his sobs as he hugged his legs and shielded his face with them.

* * *

"So, did you hear?"

"Zaki was the vampire."

"They say he was already one when his parents were killed."

"How do you think Raki's doing?"

"He's with the chief right now. Seems he can't speak from the shock."

The town elders were discussing the matter amongst themselves, Raki still in the same position he was in when he arrived to the chief's hall.

When it boiled down to Raki, the chief laid a hand upon his shoulder. "Forget yesterday, Raki. Forget all of it."

It seemed to vivid to forget as the Claymore's words echoed in his head.

 _"Do you not fear me, boy?"_

Too real to forget.

 _"You'll forget it soon enough."_

He seemed to have broken out of his initial shock and ran out of the door, not bothering to greet the villagers that spoke to him. He only cared about finding her and spotted her on the outskirts of the village.

He stood in the barren plain, catching his breath. "Hey!" He called out.

The red haired woman stopped and turned to him ever so slightly.

"You were right! I was scared!" He crowed. The Claymore could handle the frank truth that kid like himself could never hope to handle. "So that's why I'll never forget you! I'm truly grateful! I mean it! So please! Tell me your name!"

Her response was to turn and walk away.

"My name is Raki!" He screamed. He didn't expect for her to walk off. "Please, tell me your name!"

To his surprise, she answered.

"My name is Clare."

* * *

 **A/N: DAMN! THIS TOOK ME MONTHS TO WRITE UP! Oh, well. At least I'm done with it at last...**

 _ **~Deathblow88**_


	2. Claws in the Sky

**A/N: Here is the second chapter of Igyou no Sadame! Hope you like this one! Kudos to shadowqueen15 for helping me with Clare's last name!**

 **REPLY CORNER!**

 **Guest: Thank you! I appreciate the praise wholeheartedly! Stay tuned!**

 **Disclaimer: Read the Copyright Act of 1976.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _March 2,_

 _Missions have become increasingly easier as of late. I cannot tell why, nor can I ask, but for some reason it's like they're going into hiding or something akin to that. Either way, I don't exactly care to find out._

 _Signed,_

 _Clare Evering, ranked no 47_

* * *

 _April 30,_

"We're so glad that you could help us," The village chief stated, eyes so far spaced he resembled a salmon. His hand was outstretched slightly as Clare stood in front of him, a crowd at the door. "If we had waited any sooner, then more people would have died and I would have failed them as the village chief."

He hefted a burlap sack onto the desk in front of him, presenting it to the redhead. "Here is the fee we agreed on. Please accept-"

Clare cut him off in an instant. "I don't want it."

The chief blinked in surprise. "H-huh?"

They barely had the time to register that Clare had drawn her sword and had sliced off the top of his head until blood flew in a crimson geyser.

"S-she killed the chief!"

"Murderer!"

It was just like most humans feared; Claymores would someday turn their backs on them and begin to kill them.

However one of the villagers noticed something wrong with the whole picture.

"No, wait!"

He was right to call that out, since the chief's hands had turned into claws. The Nosferatu chuckled hoarsely.

 **"Heh heh heh...If only you'd come a little closer. I'd have sliced through your flesh with these claws."** He boasted.

The villagers shrieked, aghast. Even they were shocked, but more so surprised, since their very own chief was the vampire that had been feeding on them.

 **"You used our strength to attack us. I'd thought that I hid my aura...I guess there's no fooling a Claymore."** At this point, blood was dripping from the incision and trailed down his head. The wound was a lethal one; His last breaths would be nothing but what they were- curses and boasts.

 **"Damn you! D-"** And like that, he collapsed onto the table, dead. Clare shook her blade free of blood and sheathed it, alarming the crowd behind her.

"The job is done. Someone will be sent to collect the money. Give it to him then." Clare said, turning her head towards the frightened villagers.

"Oh..."

"Uh..."

* * *

Soon enough, Clare had sought out the nearest river to bathe in. Her armaments and raiment had been discarded, leaving her to bathe in the cool waters.

The waterfall provided a calming sound that allowed her to wrap her atmosphere around her like a shell as she bathed mechanically, without any relish.

Still, that shell had been cracked into when a voice behind her echoed, causing her to become tense.

"Washing off the blood of your latest kill? Clare." He wore all black, and his bifocals were tinted in the same hue.

"It's no use. Your own body produces that scent." He added, hands folded in front of his pale face.

"Rubel. It's you." Clare replied. "Did you receive the money?"

The sound of coins jingling in a small sack was her Handler's reply, the black clad man holding it up for her to see.

"New orders. There's another job in Strah, west of here." Rubel announced. Clare walked onto the bank of the river, not bothering to conceal her nudity nor did he look away. Privacy was reserved for human beings, after all.

"And?" Clare asked, grabbing the bottoms to her raiment. She pulled the garment on, the fabric clinging to her.

"The killings started only a month ago, but twenty seven are already dead." Rubel replied, causing Clare to pause.

"That's a lot. Twenty seven in one month is too many. Either it's very thirsty or there's more than one of them." She bent down to pick up her brigandine and slipped it on, buckling on her ascot and tucking in the black fabric.

"The others will take five days to get here. You can wait until then." Rubel replied.

"How many will die in the meantime?" Clare asked of her Handler.

"About one or two, I suppose." Rubel answered. Clare put on the rest of her armor and sheathed her sword, beginning to walk off.

"Going already? Clare." Rubel asked of the dhampir.

"I don't necessarily like waiting. I prefer to do the jobs as quickly as possible." She replied, turning her head ever so slightly. Her red hair shifted over her pauldron slightly before she looked forwards and began westwards.

* * *

Strah was shuttered and seemingly deserted, Clare observed. The sand and arid air added on to the effect when a man seemingly appeared from nowhere and looked her in the eye calmly as Clare's eyes had once again taken on that hellish, glowing green.

"So you're the vampire." Clare guessed.

"Yes. You've got that right." He replied, not changing his demeanor in the slightest.

"You're out in the open. People will easily guess what you truly are." Clare stated. Just as she said that, three more men emerged from the shadows, joining the first. Clare reached for the polished hilt of her sword, preparing to attack.

"That's pretty brave of you," The ringleader cockily smirked. "Taking on all five of us at once."

Clare's face contained surprise. "Five?"

Immediately, instinct made her jump out of harm's way as the fifth shot downwards, landing on her side without losing her grip on her sword.

He hissed, wings open.

"Wings? This one can fly?" Clare pondered, two of the enemy leaping straight at her as her blade rang out of its sheath, using the blade to defend herself. One of them extended his fingers to pierce through her head for a killing blow, the Devil-eyed Slayer lifting her vambrace to block it as the metal deflected the oncoming strike. The man gasped in surprise before Clare swung her arm in an arch that defied flesh and bone as she split his arm in two.

 **"ARRGH!"**

 **"Why, you-!"** The second one growled, swiping to remove Clare's head from her shoulders.

He saw the blade standing upwards as he looked at his arm, or rather, the stump he'd attained.

He hardly had time to realize that he'd been cleanly split in two at the chest.

 **"NO!"** The other two beside the ringleader and the winged one crowed as Clare practically ghosted behind them.

 **"YOU-"** One of them said, knocking Clare's sword out of her hand easily. The dhampir leaned backwards, seemingly about to fall over.

 **"SHE DROPPED HER SWORD! NOW!"** The one who's arm had been sliced in two commanded.

Clare's lithe fingers grasped the polished hilt, catching the advancing two by surprise. She swung the blade gracefully, splitting them in half at the waist. The last surviving two gasped in surprise at having been defeated so quickly.

"I see now." Clare said, tightening her grip on the red hilt and turning her head to face the pair, face speckled with blood. Her bright green eyes added on to the intimidating effect. "I thought it was strange that five Nosferatu needed to hunt in a pack. But then the weak ones need others like them to lick their wounds."

"That wench dropped her sword as a lure..." The ringleader shakily muttered. His winged counterpart had decided on fleeing with a powerful flap of his wings.

"AH! Come back!" He cried.

Instead, his back erupted in red, causing him to cough up that very color.

 **"So that was a Claymore...was it?"** Were the last words he uttered before he collapsed onto the ground and died.

Clare looked upwards at the only survivor of the onslaught. Her visage did not change until it was dilated with veins and her fangs becoming more apparent. Her dominant arm was roped with them once more and she pulled it behind her before she shifted her weight forwards and shot the long sword forwards like a silver arrow, and with likewise accuracy, impaled him through the heart. His wings folded behind him, resembling a black curtain as he drew his last breaths and collapsed to the hard, unforgiving ground.

Clare, appearance restored, gazed upon her final target and removed her longsword, shaking off the blood before sheathing it once more.

"My work is finished. Someone will be sent to collect the money. Give it to him then." Clare announced.

* * *

Among the sandy, arid plains again, Clare stalked off when she saw Rubel standing in the path to Strah.

"Ah. So you survived." Rubel commented.

"Go and collect e money for five Nosferatu." Clare reported.

"So you fought five of them? Impressive." He replied. Clare was only past him slightly when he spoke again. "How noble of you, fighting for the lives of such ungrateful villagers and fight alone against a pack of Nosferatu. Is it that when you remember your old self, you feel drawn to help?"

Clare glanced back at her Handler impassively.

"Like I said, I prefer to do the jobs quickly. Nothing more, nothing less." She said, walking away from him.

* * *

 **A/N: Surprisingly this only took me two days to finish. Meh. Doesn't help that I have my cousin's birthday to plan out. Oh, and one more thing: I will update if I get some reviews! Even if I get them slowly.**

 **Review and favorite/follow!**

 _ **~Deathblow88**_


	3. Memory of a Witch

**A/N: And now for chapter three! I wonder how fast my typing skills are. Then again, it depends on how much time I have to type it up. I still have to deal with life! I'm not a robot even if my work is easy! Seriously, mathematics has never been as easy as it is now. I even think that my entrance exams for High school (In Texas, you have to apply for a magnet school/Early College) were easy, and mathematics is where I get my lowest grades. I wonder if the fact that I studied day in and day out to pass them is why. In all honesty, I'm willing to bet that I got accepted, as my interview was with the Astronomy teacher and the PhysEd instructor.**

 **But for anyone who is in high school or has been:**

 **HOW THE HELL DO I KEEP FROM PANICKING IF I'M NOT SURE THAT I WAS ACCEPTED?!**

 **Inspiration from gallery's Claymore novelization. The AU is my own wicked mind.**

 **Disclaimer: Do I look like Norihiro Yagi? In your dreams.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _September 19,_

 _All seems alright for now, but I don't know why things have gone quiet lately. It's like everything just went still. If anything, a little_ too _still. Nevertheless, it doesn't really matter._

 _~With true sincerity,_

 _Jean Hawkthorne, ranked no 9_

* * *

A lone figure with a cloth wrapped around his face walked through the desert, on the verge of collapse.

He had gone without food or water for days, but he kept up as long as he had for only one reason before his conscience faded out, not having noticed the black, armored female silhouette.

* * *

 _"Do you not fear me, boy?"_

Her melancholy, soft voice echoed through his mind as he slept.

 _"You'll forget it soon enough."_

Raki's eyes snapped open, expectant of the barren wasteland and instead finding wooden walls and carefully carved upholstery. He rose quickly, noting that his tunic was on a nearby chair and that his clothes no longer felt heavy and full of sand.

A middle aged man opened the door, carrying a bundle of fruit and a few loaves of bread in his arms. "You're awake!" He observed.

"You're lucky to be alive." He added, walking in through the wooden door. "It's a miracle that you survived the wasteland with so few provisions."

He was right; Raki's food and water had only lasted for a day.

The man put down the food he was burdened with and turned to the boy staring at him. "You probably haven't eaten in days, have you?" He asked gently. His tone suggested that he himself had children down the line as well.

Raki looked at the food on the table and felt his stomach growling in anticipation.

"Go on, eat." He goaded at Raki's astonished look. Raki looked down at the food as he felt his stomach growling like a starved beast in a cage.

He gulped in air before he could start drooling at the prospect of food before he realized something imperative, speaking to the innkeeper sheepishly.

"But...I have no money to pay for this, not even the room," Raki sheepishly admitted. The innkeeper looked at the boy with a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. Your food and lodging has already been paid for." The senior replied.

Raki shifted slightly as he found the words to say. "Paid for by who?" He asked, getting ready to move.

"By one of those Devil Eyed Witches." The innkeeper said, his tone serious.

"Huh?!" Raki exclaimed, jolting. "D-did you say a 'Devil Eyed Witch'?!" This time, he began to push off the linens and put his feet to the ground. "What was her name?!"

"Don't know. She never told me and I never asked." The innkeeper said, leaving Raki to contemplate his answer. "Still, what a sight. A Devil Eyed Witch carrying a half dead boy into the village is unusual. She brought you here and laid you in a bed before paying for your food and lodging." The innkeeper relayed as Raki's eyes went wide at the picture that he was forming.

"So...where is she now?" Raki questioned.

"Don't know. We didn't call her, so she must have gone on to her next job." The dark haired man said, shrugging.

Raki darted out of the bed and grabbed his backpack and overshirt, heading for the door. "Thank you!" He called out over his shoulder.

The innkeeper, slightly alarmed, moved to call out to him. "Hey! Aren't you going to eat something first?!"

Raki looked back at him with wide eyes before he once again glanced at the food on the nearby table. He dug in ravenously, causing the innkeeper to become concerned.

"Hey! Slow down, or you'll choke!" The black haired man gently admonished as the boy ate a faster pace than he had expected. Soon enough, the boy had finished and was sprinting out of the inn, leaving the innkeeper behind in his wake.

"Well...goodbye, then." The man said to the now gone boy.

* * *

Raki ran around the village, searching for any sign of Clare that he could find before he stilled among the commerce in the market.

"Clare..." He whispered into the air.

 _'You're not afraid of me?'_

 _'You don't need to know. You'll forget it soon enough.'_

Memories of what she had said to him that day replayed in Raki's head. The words in his head were like freshly made silk cloth, vivid and incredibly smooth.

The boy was spurred from his trance by a masculine voice from behind him. "Hey, you there!"

Raki turned to face a man with dark hair parted strictly down the middle with curtains that framed his face hanging beside his jaw. "Um...yes?" The boy replied meekly.

"You're the one that Claymore brought into town yesterday. A Claymore was looking for you." He said to his junior.

Raki let out a gasp of surprise at the man's words. "Wh-what? Where...? Where is she now?"

The man blinked. "Uh...she left town and headed to the woods nearby."

Raki grabbed his pack, beginning to sling it over his shoulder and ran with determination set in his eyes. "Thank you!" He called over his shoulder.

The man that he had just spoken to merely said "oh" in response.

* * *

The young boy trekked through the forest, desperately searching for Clare. He began to huff in exhaustion before he saw a layered metal sabaton among the things littering the forest floor.

"C...Clare!" Raki exclaimed with a smile on his face before he saw something different with the woman he was seeing in front of him.

Long, pale blonde hair that reached her chest, differently shaped armbands and a completely different face than he was expecting. Even her pauldrons were different, and she didn't wear the signature ascot on her neck.

 _'It's...it's not her.'_ Raki thought, outwardly silent.

"Are you alone?" The strange female asked of the boy.

"Eh? Uh...yes." Raki replied. "Are you the one that saved me?"

"Hmm? Oh...that. No need to thank me." The stranger smiled.

Now, Raki was confused. "But why did you? You don't even know me. You even paid for my food and lodging."

At this, the stranger quietly chuckled. "I just wanted to help out. We Claymores are kind at heart."

The boy before her noticed that something was suddenly very, _very_ wrong with the whole picture. "Huh?"

"What's more..." The woman trailed off, walking towards him until she could reach forwards and touch his face gently. "I took a liking to you." She said, leaning in towards the wide eyed boy's face. "I wanted to make you mine."

Raki abruptly shoved the imposter away from him in stark realization. His eyes were squeezed shut, and the woman's eyes were wide with shock.

"You're _not_ a Claymore! Claymores never, _ever_ call themselves by that name!" Raki declared.

The woman's eyes widened at the tidbit of information.

"Oh? Is that so?" She said, before her face immediately became grotesque and terrifying. Veins roped her now darkened face and her fangs became more apparent. **"I didn't know! I'll have to remember that."**

A vampire.

Suddenly, the fake grabbed Raki by the hair from behind and looked out towards the foliage. **"You're pretty smart. But you followed me, just as I had planned."** Raki visibly grimaced at the foul scent of its breath as it traveled along the rim of his ear. The vampire then raised its attention to the green foliage and raised its voice to a different decibel. **"YOU CAN COME OUT NOW! I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN FOLLOWING ME! AREN'T I YOUR NEXT JOB?!"**

A thud made by a metal sabaton was the answer to the vampire's loud shout as soon as Raki opened his eyes slightly to glimpse familiar red hair. Everything that was ingrained into the boy's memory made a startling leap when he realized just who that color belonged to.

"C...Clare..." Raki numbly whispered.

Everything about her, from the way her hair was cut down to her metal sabatons, had remained unchanged.

 **"You don't give up, do you? No matter how far I run or where I hide, you stick to me like a shadow. I'm sick of it."**

Clare stepped forwards, causing the vampire holding Raki hostage to quickly begin to speak again.

 **"Hey, hey, hey! Don't make another move."**

Clare stopped walking, her expression the same as always.

 **"I know how fast Claymores are. Take one more step and I'll rip out his throat. One false move, and I'll do it."** The fake said before it made a request. **"First, drop your sword. And no tricks."**

Clare reached for the hilt of her sword as if it were muscle memory. Her eyes were once again suffused with a hellish glow as her pupils sharpened.

"What makes you think that a hostage will stop me?" Clare questioned.

Raki blinked in surprise. Did she not remember him as well as he remembered her? For a small second, his captor shared some disconcerted surprise but it had vanished just as quickly.

 **"I never thought it would until yesterday."** The fake chuckled **. "But when I saw you carry him into the village with such care, I changed my mind. I knew that he would be useful."**

So it had been Clare that had saved him? Raki's eyes widened at the revelation.

 **"You may be part vampire and a ruthless killer, but you can still remember your past life. Even a Devil-Eyed Witch never forgets them, even if you have your emotions under control."** The fake then gestured slightly to Raki before it continued. **"For instance, when you were younger, you must have had a little brother. Maybe the boy reminds you of him."**

Clare remained still.

 **"WELL? AM I RIGHT?"** The fake crowed with a monstrous cackle. **"GO AHEAD! IF YOU CAN KILL ME ALONG WITH THE BOY, THEN DO IT!"**

All of a sudden, the sound of metal ringing as if it were a sword from its sheath made itself known. Raki blinked at the sight of the red haired dhampir throwing her sword into the shallow ravine.

"How's that?" Clare replied. That was all it took for the vampire to let out a string of raucous laughter.

 **"YOU FOOL! YOU HUMANS REALLY ARE FOOLS!"** The fake said, letting go of Raki. **"No...you're only half human. You Claymores are half of nothing!"** The vampire shot forward, claws at the ready.

A vermillion geyser erupted forth from the hole in Clare's abdomen, her enemy's arm portruding from the elbow down.

Raki's warning came too late.

 **"I got you!"** The monster giggled. **"I sliced right through a Claymore!"** Looking up at Clare's green eyes, it reveled sadistically at the pain Clare must have been feeling. **"Hurts, doesn't it? Even if you are a Claymore, when your guts are pierced-?"** The vampire stopped when it noticed that Clare had grabbed the limb stuck through her body.

She jerked backwards in a leap, tumbling down the slope with her prey in tow. The vampire grunted with each thud against the roots protruding from the leaf covered ground.

 **"Don't make me laugh! Do you think that a fall like that can hurt a Nosferatu?"** It boasted before Clare stomped on its arm when they reached the bottom. The woman reached for her sword, surprising the Nosferatu underneath her feet.

"Eh?" It uttered in surprise as it looked to its left before Clare sliced through the arm that had impaled her.

Letting out a scream of pain when it noticed, the vampire's eyes widened when the edge of the blade slid through its head effortlessly, ending its existence. Clare stood at the blood spraying corpse and watched as every last drop fell away and onto the forest floor.

The redhead gripped the lifeless arm and wedged it out as it made a sucking noise. Coughing up blood, she threw the useless appendage onto the ground as she kneeled to the ground. her abdomen throbbed violently as crimson fell onto the ground in droplets.

Clare clenched the wound around her abdomen and let her power flow to the wound as veins once more became visible on her face. The wound sealed itself shut within minutes. Raki came bounding down, backpack in hand.

"Clare!" He yelled. Said warrior stood to her full height and sheathed her sword. "Are you okay?! Clare!" Raki continued as tears rushed down his cheeks like waterfalls. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Clare! It's my fault! It's all my fault!"

"Don't get the wrong idea." Clare interrupted. Raki stopped speaking immediately. "I didn't throw away the sword because of you. I only did it to trap the Nosferatu. If I'd gone through you to get to him, you would be dead and he would have gotten away. I only used my sword to lure him in." Clare explained, turning to her side.

"Oh...I see..." Raki stammered.

"What are you doing here, anyway? You're a long ways from your village." Clare said to the brown haired boy.

Raki could not form a coherent sentence in reply when Clare came up with a conclusion.

"Did they throw you out?" Clare asked. Raki's only response was a startled jerk.

"N-no...it's just that..." Raki mumbled.

Clare's eyes looked downwards to the ground in front of her. She remembered the night that her parents died; her brother had killed them both and then went after her before he too was killed.

"No...that's not why. I'm...I'm not a vampire." Raki sobbed.

"Do you know how to cook?" Clare asked from out of the blue. Raki blinked before looking at the redhead before him.

"Eh?"

"You said before that you'd do the cooking. Are you any good?" Clare asked as her shadow loomed over the boy. Raki nodded vehemently in response to her question. "Okay then. If you can cook, you can follow me until we find a town where you want to live."

Raki's face visibly brightened as the tears that remained became tears of gratitude and joy.

"Okay!" Raki exclaimed and followed her.

* * *

 **A/N: Chapter three at last. It took me from February to June to get this finished up due to school and other stuff. And yes, that question was something that I needed to get off of my chest. If anyone can tell me, review or message me. Credit for help with the last names goes to shadowqueen15 and inspiration for the story entirely from gallery's Claymore novelization.**

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 _ **~Deathblow88**_


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